Recently, I listened to two of John Mark Comer’s books Practicing the Way and The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry . I highly recommend both of them, but they sure hit me in some sensitive spots. John Mark writes about how he seeks to be more like Jesus by being his apprentice, much like Jesus’s disciples, spending time with him, doing what he does, and becoming more and more like him. At a couple of points, John Mark mentions that Jesus had a “normal” job as a carpenter for a long time before he began traveling and teaching as a rabbi. What challenged me was when John Mark said, “Jesus could have done any job. He could have done the same job as you” and then challenged his readers to think about how Jesus would have done our jobs. This has had my mind spinning for several weeks. Jesus - a middle and high school choir director? I have been a choir director for twenty years, though In some ways, I feel like a first-year teacher every year. One of the best parts of my job is tha...
Peace and Joy Among Sharks Recently, I found myself swimming in shark-infested waters. For real! My family and I were on a cruise and had chosen to snorkel with sharks in the ocean, off the coast of a Bahamian island. This was not a shark rescue and there were no cages. Are we crazy? Maybe! But it was one of our best memories with the four of us! We took a 30-minute boat ride from shore to an area of the ocean in which we were told these two breeds of sharks liked to hang out. During this time, the crew distributed masks, flippers, and life jackets. Some people on the boat were very nervous. This may have been increased by the waivers we’d signed on shore. However, we were assured that the sharks were not interested in us (unless we made a lot of small splashes, they might come directly to us…so try not to do that). We were told we could get in the water, put our masked faces down in the water, and enjoy watching some sharks swim around us. (Look, but don’t touch.) This was...